A DAD claims his manhood was left looking like “Frankenstein’s face” after what he feared was an STI turned out to be penis cancer.
James Garfield first noticed a small red pimple on the shaft of his pecker, but it quickly developed into a 1p-sized patch of itchy, oozing skin.
James Garfield was diagnosed with penile intraepithelial neoplasia
He first noticed a small red pimple on the shaft of his pecker
He worried he may have picked up an STI from a toilet seat – which is almost impossible – or that his wife had been unfaithful, so visited a sexual health clinic.
There, a doctor said he was “90 per cent sure” it was cancerous.
James said: “It was such a relief that it wasn’t an STI.
“I’d spent time researching, ‘How have I caught this?’ because it wasn’t something I’d picked up in the traditional way as I’m committed to my wife.”
The 48-year-old, who previously suffered with a tight foreskin condition called phimosis, underwent circumcision in March 2020.
A growth was removed, a biopsy taken, and he was given a chemo cream to apply.
The warehouse operative continued with his life as normal until, in December 2022, he started feeling lethargic.
He was also suffering with pain in his groin and noticed discoloration on his penis, so went back to his GP to get it checked out.
He said: “I was feeling really down, really low on energy and I had this pain in my hip and groin area.
“I had this nagging thought in my head, ‘Has something not been picked up on? Am I going to die of cancer now?’.”
A second biopsy in January 2023 revealed that James, who is married to 43-year-old care assistant Siobhan Garfield, had penile intraepithelial neoplasia (PeIN) – a rare, pre-cancerous disease on the outer skin layer.
“My wife was upset, while I was quite blasé about it,” he said.
“I was fast-tracked because it’s a rare cancer and I’m under 50.
“I was told that it was a quick-moving cancer but it was operable.
“There was no feeling of dread. Death doesn’t frighten me – when I’m dead I’m dead.”
In April, he had a glansectomy – a procedure that removes tissue containing cancerous cells – and had a skin graft from his thigh attached to the area.
Six weeks on, James, says it’s a “miracle” he’s healed so well.
The dad, from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, said: “When I first looked at it [after the op] I went ‘oh dear’.
“It looked like Frankenstein’s face. I didn’t know whether to call it Leatherface.
“But now it’s healed, it’s like a miracle.”
James now faces an anxious wait to see if the cancer has spread into his lymph nodes and if further surgery is required.
The dad-of-four is sharing his ordeal to encourage blokes to regularly check themselves and get anything unusual investigated by a doctor.
James said: “As soon as you get past what it is [penis cancer] and what it means to a man – virility and stuff like that – it’s just a body part.
“The healthcare I’ve been given has been absolutely tremendous and speedy.
“My advice to blokes is, if you find something that you don’t think is right, get it checked out.
“I was very lucky that the guy that I saw had seen this before [and knew what it was].
“Say I’d left it another year, that year could possibly have been my last because it would get into the lymph nodes in the groin area.
“If you’re not happy with what you’ve been told, get it checked out again.”
James, 48, with 43-year-old wide Siobhan
